


Cursed

by Trisdani



Category: Bandom
Genre: M/M, Magic, Mikey Way - Freeform, Vampires, fall out boy - Freeform, my chemical romance - Freeform, pete wentz - Freeform, petekey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:02:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22809067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trisdani/pseuds/Trisdani
Summary: “Don’t worry,” he said, “I’m a skilled cursebreaker. You’ll be just fine.”“Hey! Isn’t that poisonous?”“Oh yes, it’s quite lethal to the human body. One sip of this and you’ll be dead in seconds.”“What the hell? You’re supposed to break a curse, not kill me!”He rolled his eyes. “Well I’m not a healer.”
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way, Mikey Way/Pete Wentz
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

It was cold for an early spring day. The breezes had just enough chill to be noticeable. The temperature had gone unnoticed by the folk of the town. The cries of an older brother would haunt the twelve year old boy till his own sixteenth birthday.

“Mom,” the brother cried, “it hurts! Please make it stop.” He hugged his pillow as his mom whispered sweet promises.

The younger of the two sons knocked on the door frame, chv atching the attention of the brother and the mother. “What’s wrong with Gerard?” He asked his mom. She smiled and waved him away, he knew the look as if she was going to tell him later. Though later could only mean three or so years, when he turns sixteen and finds out the haunting curse that his family kept so secret.

His brother looked at him with a longing stare. He couldn’t help but feel like a small mouse under a lion's gaze. There was something off that he felt about his brother at that moment, he didn’t fail to see his mother's tight grip on his brother's arm. “Mikey, go to bed. You have school tomorrow.”

Mikey nodded but he didn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness for the rest of the night. Something was way different than before. Something that he did not like.

***

And somewhere else, in the same town, there was a boy. He sat still in front of his parents, only thirteen years old and scared of what he was about to be told. He recounted his thoughts, very well sure that he hadn’t misbehaved recently. Though he hasn’t checked his grades in a while, he’s sure that his school work is still at top scores.

His mother was smiling so that threw him off his original train of thought. Maybe they finally got him into that boarding school they’ve been threatening to take him to. “Your father wanted to wait until the school year ends to bring this news to you, but I couldn’t wait to tell you,” She said.

He looked towards his dad who smiled slightly. “Pete, you’re going to go away to boarding school. We’ve talked to your counselor about your class credits and they will be transferred to your new school for the next four years.” 

If Pete was to be honest, he was relieved. Perhaps he could leave behind the nagging over the shoulder pressure his parents threw at him everyday. Maybe he was glad to hear that he was going away for school. He smiled and sat up more straight.

“And when you come home for the summer, we can help you prepare for the next year.” His mom added. Pete’s smile faltered a bit but he nodded happily.

“Where is it?” He asked. “Am I allowed to send letters to my friends?” He would have suggested that he texted them but his parents never let him have a phone.

His father laughed like it was some stand up comedy. “No, it would be too distracting. You need to work on your studies at this new school because the standards are quite different from your normal school.”

“How different?” Pete asked. He usually never really cared for what stories his parents told him but he was intrigued.

“It’s magic, Pete.” His mother whispered, eyes wide.

Pete looked to his father for permission to laugh but there was no crack of a smile. “What do you mean magic?” He asked.

“Potions, spells, curses. And when you graduate this said school, you’ll be leaving as a warlock.” His father said. 

Pete wanted to burst out laughing on the spot, but the look from his mother froze him in place. “Are you actually sending me to Hogwarts? No disrespect, how much have you drank tonight?”

As unrealistic as it seemed to Pete that moment, he would spend the next four years at the mystical school. He would learn about beautiful creatures he never knew could exist, skills on how to make powerful remedies, and nightmares that were best hidden under the bed.


	2. Chapter 2

“Mikey wake up, you’re going to be late!” the now fifteen, almost sixteen, year old woke up. He lazily fell out of bed and wondered if it was even worth moving from his spot on the floor. He checked his phone and saw that it was already seven o’clock.

He slipped on whatever was closest to him in his closet and went down stairs quickly so he could at least have a little breakfast before he went to meet up with his friends. The little things mattered to Mikey Way in the morning, like coffee. He didn’t need no girl in his life, he just needed coffee.

“Did you finish your homework last night?” His mom asked as she set down a plate of waffles.

“Not really,” he confessed, earning a disappointed glare. “I know I said I’d do it all but I was so tired. Recently, it feels like I haven’t slept for a lifetime and I think I might be dying.”

“You’re not dying, Mikey.”

“How do you know?” Mikey asked. “I haven’t been to an actual doctor in two years. My friend Frank is convinced that you’re an anti-vax mom.”

His mom rolled her eyes playfully, “I know because you’re a teenager, and at this time in your life, your body goes through some changes—“

“Oh wow look at that!” Mikey was quick to shut down the talk his mom was ready to give him. “I’m done with breakfast, got to go!” He kissed his mom on the cheek and went over to his backpack.

“I’m working later today so you need to clean your room before Gerard gets here?”

Mikey stopped, “Wait, he’s coming? Actually?”

His mom nodded, “Your sixteenth birthday is on Thursday. Do you really think he would miss that?”

Mikey shrugged, “I haven’t had an actual conversation with him in years.” He grabbed his backpack, thinking back to the last time he saw his older brother. He was over for winter break but he didn’t spend much time socializing. Mostly sneaking out at night and sleeping away in the late morning. Though Mikey never thought of his brother being irresponsible, he believes that Gerard has definitely been hiding something.

Mikey was one step out of the door when he saw his friends lingering by his mailbox. “He’s alive!” One cheered, throwing up his hands like it was some obvious miracle.

“Good morning, Patrick.” Mikey laughed. He looked over to his other friend that lacked the cheery enthusiasm that Patrick was so full of. “Is Frank okay?”

Patrick waved him off, “He’s Frank, he’ll be fine once he has lunch.”

Mikey frowned, “He forgot to eat breakfast again?” He asked. Patrick nodded awkwardly.

“You guys forget that I’m right here,” Frank spoke up. “And just saying, I did not forget it. I just decided that getting five extra minutes of sleep was more important than food.”

Mikey rolled his eyes and unzipped his backpack, handing Frank a granola bar from his lunch. Frank gladly took the granola bar. He looked at Mikey smiling. “So, are you getting a car for your birthday?”

Mikey shook his head, “I think I’m just going to be driving my mom's minivan till college.”

The edges of Patrick’s lips twitched upward as he thought of a funny memory. It was around the time where he became friends with Mikey and Frank. It involved the minivan a nest of bees. Many good and bad memories have come from being friends with them.

“Nice,” Frank said. “Are you doing anything special on your birthday? Cause, Patrick and I were thinking…”

“Anything illegal, we are not doing.” Mikey spoke quickly, knowing only one way Franks mind could go.

Frank pouted and Patrick smiled. “We were thinking, maybe we sneak out and go to the park at night?”

Mikey thought about it, that could be fun. There was a chance of him getting in trouble for sneaking out on a school night but did he actually care? No. Then, he yawned. He remembered that he has been extremely tired all week. Would he even be awake enough to sneak out. Either way, he was still going to make some new memories with his friends. He nodded.

***

“Pete, you need to calm down.”

The seventeen year old sat in his school chair, biting his nails until they were too short to bite anything. “I can’t believe I did that,” he groaned, putting his face in his hands. “I did the wrong thing, the wrong thing that will ruin my future and leave me without a job.”

“Pete, you’re overreacting—“

“No, Ryan, you’re underreacting. You didn’t see what I did there. You didn’t see the confusion on my teacher's face,” Pete shook his head. “And I’m always the demonstration student. I’m the one who always knows what to do. What I did in that classroom, that was not the right thing.” 

Ryan rolled his eyes, “Is it really bad enough that you can’t tell me?”

Pete shook his head. “I failed the exam. I studied all summer for this. That test basically decides where we’re placed this upcoming term.” 

“Okay, but it’s school,” Ryan said, “You’re the top in our grade, I don’t think they’ll be too harsh on you.”

Pete frowned, “What if I get sent to the herbology class? What if I get placed into the anatomy of magical creatures?” He sighed, “My life is over.”

Ryan put his hand on his friend's shoulder. “Pete, everything will be okay. Just trust me—“

“Peter Wentz?” Pete’s eyes darted from his hands up to the old woman peeking from behind the door. “We need to talk about your placement exam.” She said with such calmness that it almost reassured Pete that he’d be okay. 

***

Frank and Mikey were walking home. Frank was talking about how he hated his science class or whatever. Mikey wasn’t really listening, he was a bit distracted thinking about his bed. Oh how great it would feel to go lay down in it.

“Woah,” Frank said, “Who’s at your house?”

Mikey looked up and saw ablack car, parked in the driveway. He remembered his mom mentioning that Gerard was coming by. “My brother?” Mikey said, not intending to make it sound like a question. Of course it’s not weird to have your brother come home from college to celebrate his little brothers birthday, but Mikey couldn’t really remember the last time he and Gerard had a non awkward conversation. He didn’t really feel like they had that brotherly bond anymore.

Frank stopped, Mikey looked back at him confused. “You’re brother?”

Mikey nodded, “Yeah, you okay?”

Franked nodded quickly, “Yeah, of course! It’s not like your brother was the coolest person ever or anything.”

“Right, I forgot that you had a crush on him.” Mikey rolled his eyes.

Frank glared at him. “I don’t have a crush on some twenty year old in college! Pfft. I just admire him from afar…”

Mikey shook his head, smiling slightly. “You’re so weird.”


	3. Chapter 3

“ … suspended for a semester.”

Pete felt his legs collapse from under him, Ryan was quick to hold him up. Their headmistress asked for Pete alone but Ryan didn’t think Pete could last a minute in the office without fainting. Ryan looked at his friend and back at the headmistress. “Why is his punishment so bad? It’s not like he did anything against the school rules.”

“Suspended!” Pete gasped, the two looked at his delayed verbal reaction before looking back at one another.

“Peter did something that we don’t have an exact punishment for because it’s never been done before. This placement exam was supposed to see how well our students can defend themselves from what they’ve learned here. Peter defended himself in a way that none of the teachers recognized as in the curriculum.”

Ryan rolled his eyes over at Pete, “So, he’s just an overachiever. Don’t you want your students to go above and beyond?”

“Not when they’re being experimental and risking their own lives. For this semester, we will be taking Peter’s books and sending him home where he can hopefully attend regular school.”

Ryan had to readjust his hold on Pete since he suddenly felt his friend slump down more to the ground. The headmistress looked at Pete with a bit of pity but quickly dismissed it. “I’ll call his parents now and we’ll have a teacher escort him home.” Ryan frowned. He looked down at Pete where a scared expression was frozen on his face. “Ryan, please take your friend to the nurse and help him pack up.”

Ryan nodded and dragged Pete’s now limp body out of the office. Once he closed the office door he sat down on the floor next to where Pete was now sitting silent. “Are you okay?” He asked.

Pete stared out into the space in front of him. “Suspended.” He said, disbelief in his voice.

“Only for a semester.” Ryan pointed out. Obviously that wasn’t what Pete wanted to hear but it was better than being expelled.

“Regular school.” Pete’s eyes widened, he pulled his knees close to his chest. “I don’t think I’m going to last a week. And when I get back, I’ll be a semester behind and can you imagine me getting a tutor? I’m the one who tutors everyone.”

“Pete,” Ryan said, “You’re going to be fine. “You went to regular school till you were in eighth grade. Some of our classmates don’t even know that non magic is a common thing outside people like us.”

“So I’ve missed three years of regular school. I’m going to be three years behind there!”

“You really need to shut up. You’re the smartest person I know,” Ryan said, “I’m sure that you are already academically ahead of all the students there. Oh, and you can see your old friends as well.”

Pete groaned, “But none of my old friends are like you, Ryan. And I only talk to them during the summer and that’s a rat occurrence.”

“Everything will be okay. Just wait.”

***

Mikey unlocked his front door and walked into the hall quietly. Why was he so scared to see his own brother? It’s his brother! No matter what his thoughts told him, Mikey couldn’t help but feel a bit of fear.

He didn’t see any sign that anyone was home so he just decided to run upstairs and get his homework over with. School had only just started many weeks before. It was this point in the year where all the school work began to build up and get a little too overwhelming.

Mikey sat at his desk and got out his math book. He took out a piece of notebook paper and started copying down the problems. It doesn’t sound like a difficult task but for Mikey, every number he wrote down, he felt a wave of drowsiness fill him. He looked up out his window and noticed that it was still day time. He couldn’t have been sitting there long. The heaviness of his eyelids pulled his head down onto the desk where he slept for the remainder of the afternoon.

Gerard later walked upstairs when his parents came home. He passed by his younger brother's room to see him pass out on his homework. “You’re going to need to help him with this, okay?” He turned around and saw his mom looking at the younger of her sons.

“Why me? I’m not the one who cursed the family.” He whispered, a tang of bitterness in his voice.

“Gerard.” His dad appeared between the two.

Gerard sighed, “What do I do? Hold his hair back as he’s puking into the toilet? Just because this happened to me, doesn’t mean that I know how to deal with it. I’m still struggling with this.” He waved his hand over his face. “Mikey is going to hate his life when he finds out. When he finds out what he’s going to do to people.”

“And you won’t tell him until the time is right.” His mother confirmed with him, knowing that Gerard wasn’t happy with it.

Gerard rolled his eyes, “I’m sure he’s going to notice when his lucky charms start tasting like dirt.” His parents walked back down to the kitchen, leaving Gerard to watch Mikey. Alone in his thoughts and worries.

***

Everything had moved so fast for Pete. It seemed at one moment he was sitting on his bed, watching all of his belongings getting thrown into his bags and then he was standing in front of his house. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up, his teacher smiled down at him. He always seemed to make Pete smile, which was why he was his favorite. From the unprofessional look of messy hair and an uneven red tie to cursing in class as if it didn't bother him that he could get in trouble. 

“You're going to be okay, kid.”

“Mr. Armstrong, I don't know what I did wrong. I defended myself from the monster. Isn't that what they asked for?” Pete questioned. Maybe trying to stall the moment that he has to walk inside and face his parents.

“You didn't do anything wrong,” the teacher reassured. “My boss is just an asshole. You just surprised them. You started off the exam normally like all the other students but once you got to the potions table…”

“I know, I messed up. I just didn't want to do what everyone else was doing, you know?”

Mr. Armstrong chuckled, “Well seeing as no one else got suspended, I’d say you succeeded.” Pete turned towards his house. Maybe if he runs fast enough, his parents won't see him. “Hey, and Peter? Headmistress said that you're not allowed to be studying magic while you're suspended but I…” He revealed a book in his hand. “That spell you were trying to cast? You missed the proper ingredients. Of course that kind of magic is experimental.”

“Mr. Armstrong?”

“This assignment is due when you get back next semester. I want you to correct the spell. Find out what you messed up and we’ll see if it works when you get back.” He handed Pete the book and watched the smile on his face grow a bit.

“Thank you,” Pete said, “Thank you so much.”


	4. Chapter 4

Mikey woke up with a pencil stuck to his face. He yawned and looked outside his window. Realizing that it was dark, he grabbed his phone and checked the time. Staring at the screen in disbelief. Could it really be two am? Did he really sleep that long? His stomach grumbled. He looked around seeing that a light was on in the hallway. Was someone waiting for him to get up?

Mikey walked quietly down the hall. Seeing that it was Gerard’s room light that was on. He turned around after seeing that he wasn’t even in there. He walked downstairs to the kitchen to maybe make some food before trying to go back to sleep for school that started in five hours.

“Mikey?” He jumped back and turned to see his older brother looking at him from the kitchen table. A sandwich was in his hand and a small flask was in the other. “What are you doing?”

Mikey held his hand to his heart as he tried to get his breathing back to normal. “You.” He breathed. “Scared.” He breathed, yet again. “Me.” He said at last.

Gerard cracked a smile. “I’m just sitting here.” He shrugged, taking another bite of his sandwich. Mikey looked at his other hand, giving his brother a questioning look. Gerard followed his gaze and smiled. “It’s not alcohol if you’re wondering.” He said, Mikey raised his eyebrow. “It’s the blood of my enemies. Makes for a great midnight snack.”

Mikey smiled at the joke. “Sounds great.” He said sarcastically. 

Gerard finished his food and motioned for Mikey to sit down. “You hungry? I’ll make you something and then we can have a cliche brotherly bonding moment.” He joked. 

Mikey nodded and went over to the table and sat down. “Why are you awake right now?” He asked. 

Gerard opened the fridge and pulled out some food. He shrugged, “I’m used to being up at this time, I usually have some of my classes at night and I study for them at whatever time this is. Then, I sleep in late.” 

“Sounds healthy.” Mikey commented.

“Oh it is,” Gerard said. “So, how’s my little bro doing in high school? Getting good grades? Making friends? Got a girlfriend yet?”

Mikey laughed awkwardly at the last question. Gerard looked at him. “I have okay grades, I guess. This year is really taking a toll on me. Frank and I met this kid who is too innocent to be hanging out with us so it’s nice to have common sense once in a while. And for that last one…”

“Oh I don’t want to be the one that has the gay talk with you.” Gerard groaned, he looked back towards the sandwich he was making. “I’m gonna cut this short. You like girls? That’s okay. You like guys? That’s okay. You’re confused? That’s okay,” he said.

“Just—“ Mikey tried to figure out how to word his question. “How did you know you were gay?”

Gerard shrugged, giving a quick glance upstairs. “Sex and it—“

“Okay I’m gonna stop that there.”

“No, just hold on,” Gerard waved the butter knife in his hand around. “Part of it was that. I don’t know how to explain it. You know how in romance movies, the main characters know each other after a day and just fall in love instantly?” 

Mikey nodded.

“Yeah well that’s bullshit. You really fall in love with someone once you realize that they understand you in a way that your best friend doesn’t. When you can just feel comfortable being in their presence even when it’s silent. Whoever you date should feel like a best friend, Mikey.”

“Oh,” Mikey said.

Gerard turned to him again. “I know Frank is your best friend and all but does he make you question your sexuality?”

Mikey’s eyes widened. “No! No absolutely not, he’s just my friend.”

Gerard put the food back into the fridge. “Okay, just a question. You don’t have to get all defensive on me.”

Mikey rolled. “Are you dating anyone?”

Gerard laughed a bit. “There’s this thing that people say. ‘What happens in college, stays in college.’”

“So you’re not going to tell me?”

“Nope!” Gerard said, popping the ‘p’. He placed a sandwich in front of Mikey, smiling. “Careful, it’s poison.”

Mikey smiled and took a bite, almost immediately the smile faded. “We’re joking that this is poison or are you really this bad at making food?”

Gerard turned around and looked at him. “Well I’m sorry that my skills in the kitchen do not impress you. It’s either eat or starve to death.”

Mikey rolled his eyes. “I need apple juice to wash this down.”

“Oh please, insult me more.”

“Make good food,” Mikey said. “Maybe then I won’t be mean.”

“Damn you need a snickers. You’re not yourself when you’re hungry.” Gerard commented. Earning a glare from his younger brother.

***

Pete was crying as his parents sat in front of him. He wasn’t trying to cry but once he sat down, he felt all the emotions in his body flood out at once. “Pete…” his mother said, somehow causing him to cry more. She got up and sat next to him, wiping away the tears spilling down his face. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

Pete moves his mother's hand away from his face. “A whole semester. Will I even pass senior year? I can’t just miss a semester of school and go back and act like I didn’t miss that!”

“Pete, maybe this is a good thing. If warlock studies isn’t your passion then with regular school you can get more career options. Before you went to that school, you wanted to become a writer, why don’t you try and live a normal teenage life this year?”

“Because I’m a senior this year!” Pete cried. “Final exams this year guarantee if I get to go to college and get my masters in potions—“

“Pete, don’t worry about that.” His father cut in.

Pete looked at his parents with a shocked expression. “Are you two feeling alright?”

His father looked at him with a look that Pete could almost describe as pity. “Pete, you need to relax. Take this semester as a break from magic and maybe by the end of the semester you could maybe…” his mother cleared her throat, “decide if you want to stay here for your last semester.”

Pete's jaw dropped. “Excuse me?” He asked. “No, I’m going back to finish my senior year. Why would you want me to stay here?”

“We miss you, Pete. Even when you’re home for the summer, you never leave your room because your nose is buried deep in those books.”

“Maybe because I find it interesting?” Pete answered. “When January comes around, Mr. Armstrong is going to take me back to school and I will be at the top of my class again. Everything will go back to the way it should be.”

“Maybe the way it should be, isn’t the right way.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Frank, stop it!” Patrick hissed at his friend. They all sat in the corner of the classroom. Frank got bored of the documentary as soon as the teacher pressed play so he took on the job of messing with his half asleep friend who wasn’t even aware of what class they were even in. 

Frank pouted, “but look how easy it is!” He whispered loudly. Patrick crossed his arms over his chest, giving Frank a harsh glare. “Fine…” he sighed, “but how often does he sleep in class? This is like a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

“He gives you his food in the morning and this is how you repay him.” Patrick looked over at the sleeping Mikey Way next to him. “Maybe he just didn’t drink coffee this morning? We both know that he’s addicted to it.”

Frank tilted his head, observing his friend while also poking his arm with the eraser side of his pencil. “Yeah…” he said, almost as if something had suddenly clicked into place. He looked up and saw the teacher getting up. “Patrick.” Frank mumbled.

Patrick nodded, already nudging Mikey awake. “Guys— Ow!” Mikey jumped up. He smacked Patrick’s shoulder, upset.

The teacher walked by looking at the students but not saying anything. Patrick rubbed his arm. “I didn’t want you to get in trouble.” He whispered.

Mikey mumbled out a “sorry” and yawned quietly. 

Frank thought for a moment, “Mikey, I think that you should maybe go to the nurse.”

“What?”

“Yeah, you should go home and sleep,” Patrick added. “I’ll send you whatever homework you miss.”

Mikey shook his head. “No, my parents would never pick me up from school just because I’m tired. Plus, I’m behind on a bunch of assignments already, I can’t miss more work.”

Frank put his hand on Mikey’s shoulder. “I’m sure your parents will understand. We can give you the answers to whatever work you need to finish,” he said. “Just please, take care of yourself?”

Mikey frowned, “Fine.”

A while later, after getting excused to go to the nurse, Mikey sat in the office waiting. 

“ … so you’re new to public school? Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as people make it out to be.” He heard one of the office ladies speak to someone. “Your guide should be here soon—“ The lady turned the corner with a short kid following her. She and Mikey made eye contact for a split second and suddenly everything happened fast. “Oh, Mikey! Are you the one showing Pete around school?” She asked, smiling brightly.

Mikey tilted his head to the side, observing the kid behind her. He had dark black hair, his eyes mostly looking down at his shoes. He wore a long sleeve under his t shirt with black jeans, despite it being early September. “No.” Mikey shook his head. “I’m waiting to be signed out. The nurse thinks I have the plague.”

“You do not have the plague Mr. Way, you are sleep deprived!” The three heard the school nurse yell from down the hall. The new kid stifled a laugh, looking over at him. Mikey noticed and waved quietly as the office lady pulled the new kid by.

***

Pete tried to not let the expectations of public America high school cloud his judgment but from his first step in, he already knew that he hated it. 

“This way, Mr. Wentz.” Some office lady said. She’d been dragging him around the whole school all day. He just wished he could’ve been dropped off and looked for his classes on his own. But of course, that would be silly. Since he’s been shadowing the lady he hasn’t really met any other students. No one has really even noticed him in fact. He recognized a few of his classmates from middle school but it was obvious enough that they were a lot different now.

“ … and I noticed in your schedule that you had calculus, but I saw that you already had that class credit so I put you in algebra two.” 

Pete nodded, knowing that he has taken algebra two before but he kept quiet, liking the idea of an easy class. “Thanks,” he said. He turned on his heel, eager to increase the distance from him and the office lady.

She kindly waved goodbye and as he was looking back he involuntarily bumped into someone, leading to him on top of some stranger on the ground. He looked down and saw familiar blueish green eyes looking back up at him through a pair of glasses. “Ow!” The person squeaked.

Pete quickly got off him, a pair of footsteps were heard running up to them. Pete held out his hand to help him up. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve looked where I was going—“

“Pete, you’re good.” He laughed. Pete frowned. The footsteps finally slowed down until they were right next to them. He looked over and saw someone who was close to his height, looking over at the stranger. Pete thought hard on the name of who it was that he just ran into. The guy seemed to notice and he held out his hand, “my name is Patrick. I remember you from middle school.”

Pete’s eyes widened, “Patrick! Of course!” He laughed, “how are you? What’s new?”

Patrick smiled sweetly. “You don’t remember me, do you?” He cocked his head to the side, looking at him.

“It’s a little blurry,” Pete confessed. He looked over to the other stranger that was watching the interaction quietly. “Hi, I’m Pete.” He held out his hand.

The stranger waved back shyly. “M Frank.”

The two pulled their attention back to one another. “So you’re back from boarding school?” Patrick questioned.

Pete shrugged, “only for a while. I’m only staying here for a semester.”

***

Gerard had picked Mikey up from school. He looked over to his brother that sat curled up in the passenger seat, already dozing off. He frowned to himself, wondering how Mikey was going to react to the truth that has been kept from him for so long. He knew that he himself didn’t take the news easily.

He then thought about the night before. Mikey said that his sandwich sucked and Gerard does not make food that sucks. 

He sighed, only two more days till Mikey is sixteen. 

Only two more days till the moment that everything clicks in place for the teenager. 

Only two more days till he feels like his life is over.

Only two more days.


	6. Chapter 6

“Okay, then invite him to hang out with us. You don’t need my permission to be friends with someone, Patrick.” Mikey said, distractedly doodling on the side of his book.

“But I don’t think Frank likes him.” Patrick said on the other line.

Mikey pulled the phone closer to his ear. “What do you mean?”

“He was really quiet. From the time that I’ve known him, he’s never quiet.”

Mikey snorted, “Frank gets shy when he’s around someone he doesn’t know on a first name basis. He doesn’t like to scare strangers cause last time he did, the cops got called on him.”

Patrick was silent for a moment, trying to think of the right response to what he was just told. “R-Really? Why wasn’t he shy when he met me? He nearly murdered me when we met.”

Mikey shrugged to himself, “I don’t know. Frank is special and we love the way he is.” 

“Yeah, sure,” Patrick laughed. “Anyways, how are you doing? Did you go home and sleep?”

“Yeah,” Mikey yawned. “Still a little tired I guess. I finished some of the work for history and I gave up on math a while ago.”

“Alright I’ll help you with that later. Just stay healthy and come back to school tomorrow.”

“Ugh, fine.” Mikey said sarcastically, laughing quietly. “I’m gonna go, talk later.”

“Okay, bye!”

“Bye.”

Mikey sat in his room, looking around for something to do but nothing sprung to mind. He closed his eyes and just sat there. He could hear the fan on his ceiling make ‘tik’ repeatedly with every spin. A car drove past on the street, the tires moving against the asphalt in ‘vrum’ kind of sound. He could hear the microwave timer downstairs in the kitchen going off, making a very loud ‘beep beep beep’ sound. Suddenly a very faint ‘buh buh bum’ sound. 

Mikey opened his eyes and his room was dark. He then again, heard the ‘buh buh bum’. There was another ‘vrum’, the ‘tik’ once again. ‘beep’ ‘buh buh bum’ ‘beep’ ‘tik’ ‘buh buh bum’ ‘vrum’ ‘tik’ Mikey grabbed his pillow and pressed hit over his ears, trying to block out the now overwhelming noises. It helped a little but now he could only hear the ‘buh buh bum’.

“Hey Mikey, mom wanted me to ask if you wanted Advil and— oh.” Gerard walked in to see his little brother curled up on his bed with pillows over his head. He thought for a quick moment and made a decision. He went over to Mikey and started to rub his back softly, he picked up a pillow and whispered, “It’s quiet in my room, you can sleep in there if you want.” All the communication he got was a slight nod, that was enough for Gerard to help him up and get him into his room.

Gerard was sure that Mikey would feel better in his room. A while ago he put soundproof foam on his walls to silence any thing that became too much for him. 

He looked down at his brother who was now laying on his bed, not sleeping, but just sitting there. “Why do you have those foam things?” He asked. 

“Blocks out outside noise.” He mumbled from where he sat at his desk. He knew Mikey would hear him anyway.

Mikey looked at him, his eyes bored into him. “I think I’m sick.” He stated. Gerard could tell that he wanted to say more but something held him back.

“That’s a valid assumption.” Gerard commented, not looking up from his phone.

Mikey sighed loudly. He got up from the bed and walked over to his brother. Gerard turned his phone screen away in instinct. Mikey frowned, he grabbed Gerards wrist softly and stood there thinking. “Do you have a pulse?” Mikey asked suddenly.

“Excuse me?” Gerard asked, completely off guard.

“I can hear my heartbeat inside of me. I could hear subtle things outside and as I got close to you and felt your pulse I can’t find a heartbeat.”

Gerard looked around his room as if the answer was worth looking for. “Woah, that’s pretty wack, bro.” He internally smacked himself for saying that. How was he supposed to tell Mikey about what was happening to him? He himself isn’t even good at comforting people with normal problems.

“Gerard,” Mikey said, “you don’t have a pulse. Why don’t you have a pulse?”

Gerard stood up and backed away from his brother. “Mikey, I’m sensitive. Maybe I don’t like talking about it, okay?”

Mikey threw his hands in the air. “How can you be sensitive over that? Not having a pulse is basically not having a heart! Do you take drugs or something—“

“Mikey, I swear—“

“Wait,” Mikey shut him up. He looked around his brother's room and suddenly focused back on Gerard. “You know what's happening. That’s why you have soundproof foam. Am I going to not have a pulse as well? Wait hold on—“

Gerard grabbed his younger brother's shoulders. Eyes glowing a slight red, “You’re tired and exhausted, you’re not thinking right. Go to sleep.” He whispered.

Mikey tilted his head confused at what Gerard was doing but suddenly his body became limp in his brothers arms. Gerard sighed in relief, ready to have a serious talk with his parents later.

***

“I hate school!” Pete fell face first onto his bed. “I hate it. I give up on school. I give up on life. I give up on— Wait nevermind.” Pete stopped mid rant. 

No one was home except for him but he just remembered the book that his teacher had given him. It was under his bed, wrapped in his uniform. He pulled it out and trailed his finger over the leather worn cover. The headmistress said he wasn’t allowed to study magic outside of the school, but it’s okay to break a rule once in a while.

He opened the book straight to the table of contents, frowning because everything was in Latin. The subjects were something that Pete had never studied at the school. He flipped through it and noticed a constant theme. This book had the key to break curses.

“Oh my god!” Pete laughed out loud in joy. He immediately ran to his computer and opened google translate. He typed quickly and frowned. Why was google so bad at Latin?

“Pete, you home?” Pete heard later during the night. 

“Yeah, I’ll come down soon!” He yelled back, silently hoping no one would come into his room and see the effects of him and the book alone for three hours. 

Latin was one of the few things that didn’t come easy to Pete. So when he started going through the book, he learned very quickly not to recite the spells. The frog croaking beside him was a clear sign that nothing had worked, along with his history assignment that was now on fire.

He sat in his room thinking that normal school sucked compared to his last school.


	7. Chapter 7

“Patrick, just invite him over.” The two friends pushed Patrick towards the new kid. Their friend is being a little too awkward to join the new kid.

“Okay,” Patrick said, “what if you invite him over?” He said to Mikey. “You haven’t met him yet and Frank just shuts down in any kind of social interaction.”

“That’s not true!” Frank argued, looking down into his school bought pasta. Where the noodles looked like plastic and the sauce looked like water.

Mikey gave his friend a pitiful look and then glared towards Patrick. “If you love this guy so much, just ask. Worse comes to worse, he just says no. It won’t be the end of the world.” He explained.

Patrick huffed, “Well I can't do it now. Frank looks like he’s gonna cry and I’m about ninety percent sure his food is made frowning because of him.”

They both looked at their younger friend wondering why he was so upset. “Frank?” Mikey questioned. He wanted to comfort his friend but he wasn’t exactly sure what was wrong.

“M fine.” He mumbled. No one bought it. He looked towards Mikey, “You’re okay, right?”

Mikey shook his head, “Frank, I’m worried about you. What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry, Patrick, but can I talk to Mikey alone for a minute?” Franks asked. Patrick didn’t seem to mind as he nodded and walked over to the new kid. Frank then turned to Mikey blurted out everything. “So you’re fine? Nothing weird has been happening lately?”

Mikey was confused. “What?” He asked.

Frank rolled his eyes, “How long have you been feeling tired during the day. How long has regular food been tasting bad? How long have you been hearing stuff you’re not used to hearing?”

Mikey opened his mouth and then closed it. “How… what does that mean?”

“Do you not know what’s happening?”

“No, why are you being so vague. You’re acting just like Gee and—“ he paused for a moment listening to the commotion in the cafeteria. Something was missing and he looked over at Frank and noticed right away. “You don’t have a pulse?”

Franks eyes widened. “Mikey…”

“No, you are acting like Gee. What’s going on? Frank, you know what’s happening.”

“If Gerard hasn’t told you by now then I shouldn’t tell you. It’s not my place to tell you everything.”

“Frank just talk to me—“

Frank stood up from his seat and dragged Mikey outside where it was more quiet, not going unnoticed by Pete who sat at a table along with Patrick. “Listen, do you hear your own pulse?” Frank asked.

Mikey listened and he could hear it, though it was more faint and slow than the day before. Mikey was now scared. “Frank, why is this happening?”

“Cause it’s some hereditary thing, I don’t know. Just be careful, you’re one of my best friends and I can’t let you get hurt.”

“Maybe I won’t get hurt if I actually knew what was going on.”

“Let’s go back and meet with Patrick.” Frank said, pulling Mikey along before he yanked his arm back.

“No, why are you being so secretive? I thought we were best friends? We’re not supposed to keep secrets from each other!” Mikey exclaimed.

Frank turned and looked up at Mikey. “I’m going to meet up with Patrick. Please just talk to Gerard when you get home? I don’t want to be between this.” He turned back and walked back inside.

Mikey stood there quietly, not wanting to follow Frank. He heard footsteps stop behind him and he turned around and saw no one other than the new kid. “Hi…” Mikey said awkwardly. “Pete, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah and you’re Mikey?”

He nodded, noticing that Pete was keeping his distance from him a bit. “I don’t actually have the plague. I was just joking yesterday, I really was sleep deprived.” Pete’s laugh made Mikey smile. “So where are you from? If you don't mind me asking.” Mikey said.

Pete shrugged, “I just moved schools so I’m not exactly new to the area.”

Mikey nodded. “That’s cool,” Mikey said awkwardly, “yep.” He bounces on his heels a bit, not really knowing how to keep a conversation going between him and the new kid. “I should probably go back to the cafeteria.”

“I’ll go with you,” Pete said, “I was sitting with your friend, Patrick”

“Right, you guys were friends?”

“I guess.” Pete shrugged, “I don’t think I've actually talked to any of my old friends since middle school.”

Mikey nodded along even though he knew he couldn’t relate. “Hey,” he stopped in his tracks, “no offense but it sounds like you need some friends.”

Pete laughed, there was that wonderful sound again, “I had no idea.” He said sarcastically.

“I’m having a party— actually, it’s not a party. I’m hanging out with my two friends, Frank and Patrick, this weekend. You should come too.”

“Sure.” Pete said, he smiled unaware of how contagious it was to Mikey. “Is there like a specific day or time?”

“Oh uh,” Mikey thought for a second, “what's your number? I can text you.” Yes! Go Mikey, ask for the cute guys number!

Pete’s smile faltered and a moment of panic struck inside of Mikey. “I’m sorry but I don’t have a phone. I kind of have really strict parents.”

“Oh, then what’s your address so I can write a letter?” Mikey suggested. Watching Pete laugh as he wasn’t aware that Mikey was a little serious.

“You can email me. Sorry if that sounds lame.” Pete shrugged. A bit embarrassed that he offered his email to the cute guy at school.

“No! It’s fine.” Mikey said, “perfectly fine.” He was fine with anything as long as it meant that he could meet up with Pete after school. He sighed in relief to himself. “We should head back before lunch is over.” He suggested.

Pete nodded. Once Mikey had turned away, Pete fist bumped the air in victory. Freddie Mercury’s voice singing “We Are The Champions” ringing through his head.


	8. Chapter 8

Frank walked home alone that day. He knew that Mikey wasn’t aware of how upset he was and he didn’t want to say something unnecessary that could possibly ruin their friendship. But it would be so much easier to tell Mikey what was happening to him. It seemed so unfair that Frank was there for his older brother when he went through the same thing. But no, everyone wants it to be so damn complicated.

He sighed and kicked a rock into the street. Frank wouldn’t be surprised if Mikey doesn’t show up to school tomorrow. Actually, he’s praying that he doesn’t show up. 

He walked up the pathway of his house and unlocked the door. The light from outside lit up the dark hallway. He looked around noticing the house was quiet and all the shades on the windows were pulled down. He made his way to the kitchen and dropped his backpack down on the counter.

“No!” He whispered loudly. He looked in the fridge to see it nearly empty. “Why!” He groaned. He slammed it closed and dragged his bag down to his room. He stopped short by his room, hearing a small creaking sound. He let the door swing open, he peaked in and saw a familiar face sitting on his bed.

“Have fun at school?” They said, leaving frank to roll his eyes annoyed. “Oh don’t pretend you didn’t miss me. You got lonely and that’s why you started hanging out with my brother.”

Frank smiled a bit, “I heard you came back for Mikey’s birthday.” He said sadly, “Gerard, does he really not know yet?”

Gerard shrugged, “I didn’t find out till I was sixteen. And you helped me get through it better than I would’ve alone.”

“Yeah, well I don’t think the younger Way is willing to accept any of my helpfulness anytime soon.”

“Why what happened.”

“Asked him about it. And he got pretty upset that I knew what was going on and he didn’t.”

Gerard nodded, fully understanding. Frank rarely thought about how tough it must be on the Ways. Their parents held a curse that affected every one of their offspring, leading up to their sixteenth birthday. Sucks for them. “He’s gonna hate it. He’s gonna hate his life.” Frank looked at Gerard. “Sorry, I’m just worried about my brother.”

“Gee, you’ve been living like this for four years, you know it’s not that hard—“

“You’ve been living like this since you were born, Frank!” Gerard blurted out. “You’ve never actually had your heart beat once! You don’t know what it’s like to be a healthy human one day and the next you’re just a heartless monster!”

Franks eyes widened at the older Way. He noticed the subtle features on Gerards face soften as he realized what had just come out of his mouth, but it was too late for an apology. Frank was already pushing him out the front door. “Stay away from me, Gerard. I love Mikey like a brother but maybe since you relate to him more, you should help him through this.”

“Frank, I didn’t mean it like that—“

“Have fun explaining to him that he’s a heartless monster!”

“Frankie, ple—“ the door shut right in his face. Probably loud enough to wake up the other members of the Iero household but frank did not care. He didn’t care a bit.

***

“Hey, Mr. Armstrong, I had a question on the homework assignment.” The rather shy student asked his potions professor. He was confused at why he looked so disheveled when looking around his desk. “Sir?”

“Yes, Ryan I will get to you!” Mr. Armstrong said, his words sounding stressed and worried.

“What are you looking for—“

Mr. Armstrong looked up over his desk as he was sitting on the floor. “Hypothetically, I gave a student a textbook that holds information that shouldn’t be taught until at least your sixth year of university and if the head mistress finds out, I will be fired.”

Ryan looked at his teacher with wide eyes, he gripped his school bag strap tight. “Hypothetically… right? Cause you’re the only teacher here I understand and I can’t struggle with a new one if you get fired.”

“Assure me that you will never speak of said book to any other staff of students.” 

“Yes sir. Now, my homework?”

“Oh right!” Mr. Armstrong got off the ground and cleared off his desk with a flick of his hand. He gestured for Ryan to brink over his paper’s. 

Ryan did so, watching some of the litter that covered the teachers desk quickly fade into thin air. “How did you—“ Ryan began to ask but was then cut off.

“You used a chicks liver instead of a chicken liver.” Mr. Armstrong said, handing the papers back. Ryan quickly read through it again and looked up confused. 

What’s the difference?” he asked. “It’s the same bird, isn’t it?”

“Different age, different stage.” Mr. Armstrong said. He said the four words quite often enough for the students to get a headache from it. “Let’s say you used a new born chicks liver, your spell wouldn’t last more than a couple hours. If you used a grown adult, your spell could last up to months and your plant would be green for however long.”

Ryan thought about the wilted plant back in his room. The leaves were dropping down to the soil and he was convinced that even magic couldn’t save it. “Is that it? I just messed up an ingredient?”

Mr. Armstrong nodded. “Unlike your other classes, Ryan, you’re actually doing well in potions.” Ryan sighed in relief, the teacher quickly took notice of that. “Do you need a tutor for your other classes?” He asked hesitantly.

Ryan shook his head. “No, I’m fine. I’ll get through it,” he said, not entirely convincing. “And my usual tutor is gone right now so there goes the only person that could explain magic in a way that makes sense.”

“I can find you another tutor, Ryan.” Mr. Armstrong started to walk behind his desk. He pulled out a piece of paper that had a number of names on it. He studied it for a moment or two and circled a couple of names and handed it to him. “I really need you to try and excel.”

Ryan reluctantly took the paper. “You’re not as cool when you’re a responsible teacher,” he mumbled and walked away.


	9. Chapter 9

Mikey gasped awake in a panic, his lungs trying to take in as much air as they could. He felt his body ache in all places, especially his mouth. He rolled over on his side and checked his phone for the time. His face scrunched up in confusion, it was only midnight.

“Ah!” He let out a little yell when his tongue brushed a sharp point in his top row of teeth. He opened the camera on his phone. He looked almost invisible in the dark of his room.

And rolled back on his back and smashed his pillow on top of his face. This was just a bad nightmare and he’ll wake up soon enough for none of this to be remembered.

When Mikey saw the sun's light start to creep into his room hours later, he began to think that he was actually living in this nightmare. He stumbled out of bed and went into the bathroom, letting anything that was in his stomach out. He sighed, he was just sick. People hallucinate when they’re sick.

“Mikes, you okay?” He heard Gerard knock on the other side of the door. Mikey opened his mouth to respond but more puke came up and he leaned over the toilet. He heard the doorknob turn and a hand on his back started rubbing in circles.

“I— sick.” Was all he could say. Gerard wasn’t an idiot and could obviously see. He sat there and waited until Mikey had finished. He helped him up and took him back to his room. Mikey mumbled a “thank you.” Gerard nodded as if it was nothing.

Once Gerard was sure that Mikey was sleeping, he walked downstairs and was met with his parents making breakfast together. He coughed to get their attention and nodded his head towards the stairs. They understood and opened the fridge, taking out a carton.

“He thinks he’s sick, mom.” Gerard said cautiously.

“You don’t think he will drink blood, do you?” She asked the obvious, looking at the little carton in her hands. Of course Gerard wanted to believe that his little brother wouldn’t.

“I want to believe that Mikey will figure out a way around this. That he doesn’t have to pay for your guys' mess like I do.”

“Hey, it’s not like we were trying to get our children cursed!”

“Yet, you managed to do this!” Gerard pointed. “And now we have to pay for it.”

“Gerard…” his mother started before he cut her off.

“No,” he said, “I’m going to help Mikey get through it today and you two are just going to be oblivious to everything, just like you always are.” Gerard stomped away from his parents, leaving them alone with their now burning breakfast.

Hours later, Mikey gasped awake once again. The sounds of steps, a car honking, plane flying overhead, dogs barking, children laughing— everything could be heard. “Gee… Gerard?” He yelled out. He wasn’t sure what time it was. He could’ve slept all day for all he knew.

“I’m here, Mikey.” He looked over at his brother who sat by the side of his bed. Mikey didn’t feel sick anymore. His head didn’t ache as much anymore and he didn’t feel tired. He did feel weak, however. “You hungry? I made you soup. Mom and dad left for work and called you in sick today.”

Mikey nodded, propping himself up on his elbows. Gerard brought up a bowl of chicken noodle soup, the broth being a lot more red than he’s used to. “What is this?” He asked, curiously.

“Just soup and a little bit of stuff to make you feel better.” Gerard nodded, Mikey took the bowl gratefully.

***  
“Hey, um, where’s Mikey?” Pete said hesitantly to Patrick. Frank who was walking with them looked up from his phone, curiously looking at Pete.

“He’s sick.”

“Still?” Patrick questioned. “I hope he’s okay.”

“He’ll be fine.” Frank shrugged.

Pete looked at Frank curiously, suddenly noticing something was odd about him. It could just be his brain telling him that it was just because Frank was different in his own way. But his brain often deceived him. “I saw him a couple days ago in the office. The nurse said he didn’t have enough sleep.”

Frank looked at him. “Not sleeping can take a toll on you.” He glanced at the whiteboard ahead of them and started copying down notes. “Also, it’s his birthday. I wouldn’t be surprised if his parents let him skip school for a day,” Frank said, knowing that that was not the case.

“Well are you guys going to check on him after school?” Pete asked, not completely sure why he was putting so much worry on the subject of someone he just met.

Patrick looked over at Pete and then at Frank. “It would be a good thing to check on him.” Frank sighed. “No, really! He’s our friend and it looks like he’s been having a rough week.”

“He’s fine, Patrick. He probably just has the flu.”

***   
“Gee?”

Gerard came into the room to see his brother holding his face in his hands. Gerard was quick to slide right next to him and rub his back. “Just relax, Mikes” he said soothingly. 

Mikey looked over at him with red eyes. “It’s quiet.” He whispered. Gerard tilted his head, confused for a moment. Mikey grabbed his hand and put it on his chest. “It’s not beating.”

Gerard wasn’t going to try and convince Mikey that he was wrong. He was absolutely right. His heart was not beating. Mikey was undead. Still able to function by some ancient magic, Frank had told him once, but physically dead. He knew that it was time to break it to him.

“Mikey, you’re a vampire.”


	10. Chapter 10

Pete ran upstairs to his room. He grabbed his book from under his bed and started flipping through the pages quickly. He stopped on one specific page that had a messy illustration of a human heart and a top row of teeth, showing long pointy fangs. “Bingo!” He said in excitement.

He pulled out his computer and started to translate as many words as he could to get a brief understanding of the text.

There was a mention about sunlight, but Pete already had a basic knowledge on these monsters. Remembering some facts about these creatures of the night: they’re sensitive to high exposure of sunlight, blood of a deceased human can immobilize them for a selected amount of time, and iron can burn them. Pete stopped at one word that he wasn’t quite clear on.   
“Cure”  
“Antidote”  
Pete thought back to when Mr. Armstrong gave him the book. The spell failed because he was missing a key ingredient. But what was that ingredient?

***  
Frank knocked on the door of the Way household. Patrick had wanted to come along as well but he managed to convince him not to. So here he stood, a box of cookies in hand, waiting for the door to open.

The handle turned and Frank was met face to face with Gerard. “Frank,”

“Now before you continue,” Frank quickly interrupted, “Patrick made cookies for Mikey and I need to check on him.”

Gerard crosses his arms over his chest. “You’re not going near my brother—“

“He’s my best fucking friend, I need to make sure he’s okay. And the sun is really bright out here, can you let me in?” Frank asked while subconsciously rolling his sleeves over his arms more.

Gerard rolled his eyes and opened the door wider, letting him in. “It already happened if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“I already knew that it happened, there’s not a single living thing in this house other than the spider hiding underneath your fridge,” Frank said. 

Gerard groaned, “I hate it when you do that.” He has known Frank for almost as long as he’s been a vampire. Obviously since Frank has been a vampire since birth, he knows how to use the abilities his curse gave him.

“Mikey!” Frank yelled, smiling when he saw Gerard flinch. “I have cookies!”

“I hate you,” Gerard whispered.

Mikey got up and met Frank up at the top of the stairs. He looked down at the box in his hands and smiled. “Patrick?”

“Who else?” Frank asked.

Mikey caught sight of Gerard at the bottom of the stairs, he could tell just his brother's expression that something was wrong. He looked over at Frank who’s eyes told him to drop whatever he was going to ask. He looked between the two as if he was silently interrogating them. “Okay…” Mikey turned and let his stare finally rest on Frank. “You got the homework?”

Frank held up a plastic folder, “yes, cause I know how much you love that.” Mikey joked. He pulled Frank into his room and closed the door. Frank turned and saw that Mikey was not smiling like he was moments before. “You knew!” He yelled, throwing the cookies onto his bed.

Frank was still, scared that the most subtle movement would trigger Mikey to yell at him again. “What? I don’t know what you’re—“

Mikey cut him off fast, “you’re a vampire, Frank! And you’re friends with Gerard who, funnily enough, is a vampire!” He yelled, throwing his hands in the air. “Suddenly, I know the reason why I’ve been sick all week and I find out that my— my best friend is a—“

“Okay, please don’t be mad at me.” Frank interrupted Mikey. He hated to see his friend mad at him for something he couldn’t control. He just wished he could explain how it wasn’t his place to tell him anything. “I found Gerard a couple years ago and helped him through everything. It’s not like I didn’t want to tell you, I just thought you should find out by your family.”

Mikey was quiet. This wasn’t how he expected to spend his birthday. He sighed, “I’m sorry,” he apologized, “can you go home? I don’t really think…”

“I’ll go,” Frank agreed easily to let his friend have some space. “If you need help with the homework or anything, Pete put his email on your math worksheet.”

Mikey’s heart did a flip flop. “Pete?” he clarified. 

Frank nodded, “Yeah, he’s in our math class and he seems to already know what we’re doing so I thought that it’d be better if he’d help you instead of me just sitting here and crying at numbers.”

Mikey smiled, maybe because frank was funny, or he had the cute new kids email.

***

Pete was surrounded by books and his own notes. Deciding carefully that stepping away from the subject would be a good idea. 

He moves away from his desk and goes over to his bed that has his backpack. He pulled out his math book, glancing back at his desk. No, he will not… maybe a little while longer? He can’t help it. The idea that he has met someone who is special like that, makes him feel closer to his old school. Maybe just a few pages more…

A quiet ‘ding’ came from the computer.

Pete pushed his work to the side and grabbed his laptop. He looked at the screen that read,

“1 unread email from M. Way!”


End file.
